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Flowering Kale: The Coolest Cool-Season Ornamental

Long before it became a trending food, flowering kale was a garden star, delivering a pop of color to fall’s graying landscape. The plant is not only prized for its striking foliage and rosette, it’s also one of only a few species that thrivesin cold weather. Indeed, flowering kale likes cold temperature so much it often stays attractive well into winter. This makes it the perfect choice for fall gardens and containers.

IS IT CABBAGE OR KALE?

Things can get confusing at the nursery. Although they belong to the same family, cabbage and kale are not the same. Cabbage is a multi-layered vegetable whose leaves come together to form a head.

Cabbage head growing in the garden

In contrast, kale has an upright cluster of leaves called a rosette.

Ornamental kale

That being said, you will generally find ornamental varieties with broad, fat leaves labeled as ‘cabbage’ and those with ruffled, crinkled or curled leaves labeled as ‘kale’ at the store.

BORN TO BE BEAUTIFUL

Selectively bred to produce spectacular leaves and rosettes, flowering kale comes in all shapes and sizes. The outer leaves are typically blue-green in tone. And the rosettes start out pale green, then gradually shift to shades of pink, red, purple, or cream depending on variety. The florets expand as temperatures cool, .

The distinctive, blue-green outer leaves of flowering kale

In recent years, innovations in color and form have made ornamental kale a ‘must-have’ in fall gardens. The new hues work beautifully with chrysanthemums, pot marigolds and pansies. And the variety in sizes makes it perfectly suited to just about every container.

Flowering kale rosette featuring ruffled edges

Flowering kale usually reaches its crescendo just after the first frost. However, some plants maintain their intensity all the way until spring.

LOW MAINTENANCE

Ornamental kale and cabbage require very little maintenance and are bothered by few pests. Plants prefer moist, well-drained soil and benefit from feeding. For the best color, plant your specimens in full sun.

Since there won’t be much top growth after September, look for plants around the one gallon size. Keep spacing tight (10 to 12 inches) to encourage the rosettes to remain small. Over time, plants generally attain a width of approximately 12 inches.

THE MOST POPULAR VARIETIES

Here are some of the most popular varieties:

REDBOR

Redbor has narrow, upright deep purple, ruffled leaves. It is the tallest kale grown and can reach a height of 3 feet. Use it by itself in a parterre garden, or try massing it behind annuals like chrysanthemums, pansies and violas in contrasting colors.

Purple-leaved Redbor kale

PEACOCK SERIES

Peacock series ornamental kale are large, open and frilly plants that can reach 2 feet across. They feature deeply serrated, feather-like leaves and cream or red-toned centers. Extremely cold hardy, they can survive even the harshest of winters.

Deeply serrated, feather-like leaves distinguish Peacock kale

PIGEON SERIES

Pigeon Series (Pigeon Pink and Pigeon Red Pigeon Purple and Pigeon White) ornamental kale most closely resembles cabbage with its tight rosettes of light pink, dark red or creamy white. The round-shaped plants have wavy outer leaves that remain medium to dark green while the flower-like centers change color. I’ll often combine different colors to form geometric patterns.

The tight rosettes of ornamental kale ‘Pigeon Series’

OSAKA

Osaka Pink, Osaka White and Osaka Red are often termed ornamental cabbage due to their smooth, flat leaves and tightly-packed rosettes. The plants produce layers of wavy edged green leaves while the florets gradually change to bright purple, pink or cream.

Osaka series ornamental kale has flat green leaves like cabbage

IDEAS FOR DESIGNING WITH FLOWERING KALE

Due to its wide range of sizes, flowering kale looks equally good mixed with other flowers or all on its own in a single container. Below is a parterre garden I created using two broad-leaved varieties.

In this formal urn, I played up the drama using tall grasses as a centerpiece. Then I added different varieties of red and green flowering kale, purple violas and mahogany-toned potato vine to create a warm-toned composition.

Ready to get started? Check out your local nursery for the newest varieties. And don’t be afraid to combine them with other cool-season companions like evergreen branches, dried flower heads, catkins and berries. These fillers will add interest to your containers and help pump up the volume.

About carole funger

I'm a garden designer and Maryland Master Gardener living in the Washington, DC area. I blog about new trends in horticulture, inspiring gardens to visit and the latest tips and ideas for how to nurture your own beautiful garden. Every garden tells a story. What's yours?